Is this the future for the Tour? Maybe. Slipstream is a team based in Boulder, Colorado which is financed by a software company and run by ex-pro Jonathan Vaughters. The team is built along ethical guidelines, produces test data on all their cyclists which is available to the public. "Do not Dope" is part of the mission statement says Vaughters and explains that their team will be subject to more than a thousand tests during any one season. This week Slipstream signed some big names, including David Zabriskie, Christian Vandervelde and Brit David Millar. Millar who was banned for two years for using EPO has become an ambassador for the anti-doping movement. He feels that the pressure to dope surrounds the sport, urging team managers to help change the mentality within the peloton.
There are a number of articles talking about the current state of cycling, including this one at slate (thanks to Amanda) and these at The Guardian. As always, tdfblog has more news about the race fallout and the various end of season team manoeuvrings.
Personally, I think there is a generation gap between the old members of the peloton who see doping as a legitimate risk, like driving home after a pint too many; and a new younger group of riders who want to race clean, compete on a level playing field and run on bread and water. I hear that Vaughters and Millar visited the organisers of the tour, who were very supportive of the work at Slipstream and who are absolute in their resolve to beat doping in cycling. As a fan, I no longer want to see those huge, legendary escapes, those incredible solo attacks, those massive time trial victories, because I can no longer believe them. This year, the tour was won by the tightest of margins. This is the way it should be, and hopefully the way it will be, because whilst there will always be some amazingly talented individuals, the riders will have to fight harder, go slower, be more tactical - and this will be a clean peloton.
